BREAKING THE PATTERN WITH ADIDAS GLITCH

POSSIBLE / IRIS / adidas

Adidas decided to adopt the disruptive attitude of a start-up when it came to launching its Glitch football boot via an invite-only mobile sales channel.

Objectives

The primary objective was to maximise customer engagement and loyalty among consumers, with sales and profit from Glitch a secondary aim.

Strategy and execution

Glitch represented a new football boot concept comprising an inner shoe and outer skin. It also required a new, innovative route to market for Adidas.

The boot was developed and tested in collaboration with a community of young football players and influencers, who would also take part in customer service support and promotion.

Glitch was launched using no big ad, a small budget and no media spend. Buzz was generated using social media and word of mouth.

Adidas’s approach eschewed the use of 'big name' advocates, instead focusing on young players. These influencers were active in creating Glitch content, including tens of thousands of YouTube videos.

Results

Glitch immediately trended upon launch, with players taking to social media to beg for referral codes, while the Glitch app gained more than 60,000 downloads in its first six months and codes seeded by 'first influencers' resulted in a 75% sale conversion rate.